


Atlantis

by RJMeta



Series: AWH-verse [2]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Divorce, OCs do appear in this fic as mentioned characters, the conductor cries smoke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26979013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJMeta/pseuds/RJMeta
Summary: "Of all the things he’d been expecting to find when he emerged out onto the roof of Dead Bird Studios, seeing the Conductor swigging whiskey straight from the bottle while sat in his stargazing spot was not one of them."-=-=-=-=-Two birds have a chat on a rooftop. It doesn't go as badly as they expect, but it doesn't go spectacularly, either.
Relationships: The Conductor & DJ Grooves (A Hat in Time)
Series: AWH-verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968832
Comments: 1
Kudos: 51





	Atlantis

**Author's Note:**

> as per usual with this series, this fic is named after the song i was listening to on repeat while writing this - in this case, [Atlantis by Seafret](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PbAT6zOihc)

Of all the things he’d been expecting to find when he emerged out onto the roof of Dead Bird Studios, seeing the Conductor swigging whiskey straight from the bottle while sat in his stargazing spot was not one of them.

He almost turned to head back inside, but the other’s ears had already perked up, hearing his arrival. Their gazes met, and for a moment, his breath caught.

The Conductor looked almost ethereal, silhouetted by the setting sun, his form outlined by the last rays of the day. He seemed to glow under the golden-orange light, feathers gently ruffled by the faint desert breeze - and suddenly, Grooves could see the fire spirit heritage. He looked untouchable.

Then the Conductor opened his mouth.

“Well? Don’t just stand there, come sit down, ye peck neck.”

Fighting back a snort, he walked over, setting down his telescope case to the side. He followed the other bird’s example, settling on the edge, feet dangling over the side. For a moment, there was silence as they both just stared out at the sunset.

“Want some?”

Glancing over, he saw the whiskey bottle being held out in his direction. The label told him it was Dack Janiels. He hesitated a second, then shrugged.

“What the hell? Sure.”

It burned his throat as he took a swig, smoother than he expected but nothing like the fruity cocktails he preferred. The woody, smoky flavor definitely suited the other bird, though. He passed the bottle back.

“So, what are you doing out here? I would have thought that you’d still be working at this point.”

The Conductor shrugged, taking another swig from the bottle.

“Gave th’ owls th’ day off.”

He started, looking at the smaller bird in shock. The Conductor’s workaholic tendencies were well known to everyone in the entertainment industry, least of all the bird he shared a studio with. The owl squirmed under his amazed stare.

“What? Ah can be nice.”

“I-I’m not saying you can’t! I’m just… um…”

The other bird smirked at him.

“Ye can say astounded, Ah know Ah’m not exactly known tae be takin’ days off.”

He sighed, placing the bottle down. His hands moved strangely as he did, forming what Grooves quickly realised were signs.

“Where did you pick up Sign, by the way?”

The owl twitched, ears flicking. Grooves frowned slightly, worry starting to nibble at him as the silence stretched out. He was just about to say something when the older bird finally spoke, voice strained.

“If Ah tell ye, do ye promise not tae laugh?”

Belatedly, he realised the other was embarrassed. Hiding a smile, he nodded.

“You have my word, darling!”

“Ah… _pickeditupfromamovie_.”

Grooves blinked.

“I’m sorry? I didn’t quite catch that, darling.”

The Conductor growled, burying his face in his hands.

“Ah said Ah picked it up from a movie!”

He couldn’t help it - he burst out laughing. The other bird scowled at him.

“Ye said ye wouldnae laugh!”

“I’m-- ha ha! I’m sorry, I pro-hoh-oho-mise I’m not laughing a-ha-hat you, oh stars!”

Flapping his flippers, he took a deep breath, trying to calm.

“It’s just-- I learned Sign for the same reason. There was this director I loved as a chick, his name was Stanley Puffin--”

“-- director of Bird at Sea, which featured a deaf protagonist who served as lookout on a small sailing ship. Ah used tae watch his movies until the tapes died.”

They stared at each other for a second. He broke out in a wide grin.

“Well, how about that? Was he the reason you decided to become a director too?”

The Conductor started grinning too. It was a fearsome expression on his face, what with the jagged beak and the lack of eyes, but to Grooves, it was a rare treat.

“Aye! His movies were pure magic, they were. Even now, if Ah’m runnin’ low on ideas, Ah’ll go back and watch a couple, get inspired all over again.”

Grooves chuckled again, leaning back to watch the sunset.

“Same favorite director, same reason for becoming a director - heck, we probably would have been friends, had we met as chicks!”

The grin slowly slid off his face as old memories rose to the fore - in particular, a certain award night almost a decade ago.

“... aye, probably.”

The tone of voice told the Moon Penguin that the owl had remembered much the same night. For a long moment, silence reigned. Then he sighed.

“Conductor?”

“Mm?”

“What happened that night?”

The other stilled before picking up the bottle and taking another long swig. Grooves took it when it was held out to him, taking his own pull before handing it back.

“D’ye remember me ex-wife?”

He blinked at the non-sequitur.

“Your ex-wife? Yes, she helped you build your train, right?”

“Aye. She came along when me daughter was thirteen or so, we were married fer ten years.”

Something started to niggle at the back of his mind. He stayed quiet, continuing to listen.

“Ten years intae our marriage, we were happy. Me train and me movies were doin’ fantastically, her mechanics business was booming, me daughter had just had her ferst clutch of kids.

“It was a complication with the delivery - an infection or somesuch. At least, that’s what we were told. Point is, she got sick. Ah was so busy with her and the hospital, Ah missed the news of a storm that’d rolled through. It damaged some of th’ tracks, and th’ train ended up derailing. Poor thing was almost destroyed.”

His heart was sinking in his chest. Dots were starting to connect and he didn’t like the picture they were forming.

“Ah had a million and one things on me plate - tryin’ tae get me train fixed, tryin’ tae salvage what we could fer filmin’, supportin’ me daughter, supportin’ me son-in-law, lookin’ after me grandkids. Some things fell tae th’ wayside. Me wife was one of them.

“She cornered me, one night. We had a right row - biggest we’d ever had. She called me, ‘a one-track bastard who cared more about his train than his wife’. Then she threw her ring at me face and left. Ah never saw her again, she had the divorce papers delivered tae me by courier. Last Ah heard, she’d moved out to Alpine Skyline.”

Grooves put a flipper over his beak, heart breaking at the small shake in the other’s voice. But he wasn’t done yet.

“A week later, I got a call from me son-in-law. Poor man was sobbin’ his eyes out, almost couldnae understand what he was sayin’. Ah got th’ message, though. Dropped everythin’ and raced tae th’ hospital. Arrived two minutes late, tae me son-in-law sobbin’ over th’ body of his wife.”

The owl took a shuddering breath, small curls of smoke lifting from him.

“Ah didnae enter the Awards, that year. Couldnae - Ah had no film tae present. Ah didn’t actually plan on goin’ at all; between sortin’ out funeral arrangements, organisin’ repairs fer me train, takin’ care of the grandkids so me son-in-law could grieve, Ah had too much tae do. But he convinced me tae go, told me tae just show up fer an hour, congratulate the winner, schmooze a bit, then come back.

“So Ah did. I was proud when I saw it was ye who’d won. Ah figured, out of everyone in th’ movie world, if Ah couldnae win, ye should.”

He was crying now as well, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he realised the depths of his mistake.

“And I rubbed my win in your face… I accused you of being too embarrassed by your movies this year to even enter… oh, Conductor…”

“With th’ benefit of hindsight, Ah know ye had no way of knowin’ what was happenin’ in me life. Ah keep me home life a secret from th’ press, didnae want any vultures circlin’ me family. Ye couldnae known.”

He looked over in shock, seeing a sad smile aimed at him, talons absently tapping on the neck of the bottle.

“That doesn’t excuse what I did!”

“But it does explain it. And anyway, it goes both ways - Ah had no right tae scream at ye like Ah did. Ah came tae congratulate ye and all Ah ended up doin was callin’ ye a heartless bastard.”

“Well, I was acting like one! You were fully justified--!”

“-- just like ye were justified in callin’ me a shallow, self-absorbed prick who only cared about winnin’. In yer eyes, Ah was.”

The older bird sighed.

“Grooves, at this point, it’s water under th’ bridge. We’ve had some sense knocked intae us, we’re past it. At least, Ah think we are. Yer a good bird, even if ye act like a right moron sometimes.”

For a second, he simply stared, unable to believe it could be that easy.

_Then again, why overcomplicate it?_

Wiping his eyes and face, he sent the other bird a smile.

“The same to you, darling.”

Glancing up, he noticed the last bit of sunlight disappearing behind the horizon and remembered the reason he came up here.

“Do you want to stargaze with me, darling?”

The Conductor hesitated, then shrugged.

“What the hell? Sure.”


End file.
